Report: 1 billionth iPhone app to be downloaded this week

Apple is set to cross the 1 billion app finish line later this week. With the …

Apple is likely to cross the 1 billion App Store downloads mark this Thursday, April 23, according to calculations performed by Mobile Squared. The site analyzed the rate at which iPhone and iPod touch apps are being downloaded and declared that D-day will arrive this week.

Apple first announced that it had begun the countdown to 1 billion earlier this month on April 10. At that time, the company also rolled out a promotion to give away a $10,000 iTunes gift card, a 17" MacBook Pro, a 32GB iPod touch, and a Time Capsule to one lucky App Store customer. Every purchase until the 1 billionth download counts as an entry into the giveaway, but those who don't have an iPhone can also enter up to 25 times via an online entry form.

Mobile Squared says that Apple is currently averaging 5.1 million downloads per day. This is quite an increase from the 2.98 million downloads per day for the first 500 million, showing that the App Store's offerings have indeed increased in popularity. Unsurprisingly, most apps were free downloads, though mobile squared's data says that the average cost of a paid download is $2.20.

Assuming this data is correct and the 1 billionth download will occur in mere days, there's no time like the present than to load up on all those apps you've been missing out on. $10,000 sure is a lot of music (or movies, or TV shows, or iPhone apps) on the iTunes Store, after all.